A Study of Salt Content of Different Bread Types Marketed in Amman, Jordan

Noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of premature death in the 21st century. Dietary factors such as high salt intake constitute the main risk factors. Bread is considered as one of the most important sources of dietary salt. The objectives of this study were to determine the sodium content of the main types of bread that are marketed in Amman, and to evaluate the bakers’ adherence to the Jordanian specifications. Sixty eight bread samples of seven types of bread were collected from 13 different bakeries distributed in Amman. Bread samples were dried, ashed and the sodium content was directly determined by using flame photometry method. The average salt content of the analyzed bread samples was 1.19±0.21 g salt/100 g of fresh bread, ranging between 0.42 g/100 g for white Arabic bread and 2.06±0.19 for shrak bread. Approximately half of bread samples have met the Jordanian specifications. It is concluded that salt content of bread varies widely in Jordan and that bread types such as shrak and mashrouh breads contain high amount of salt. The Jordanian specification of the salt content of bread should be applied to all breed types. Also, it should be reduced gradually to a lower limit.